


night shift

by glim



Series: AU-gust 2020 fics [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medical, Captain America Sam Wilson, Flirting, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, Nurse Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25792429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glim/pseuds/glim
Summary: God. He needs sleep. Sleep and coffee and an actual boyfriend who won't care if he does stupid things like works overnights then drink twenty-four ounces of McDonald's coffee, or develop a crush on Captain America just because he says Steve in his friendly voice.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson
Series: AU-gust 2020 fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860670
Comments: 5
Kudos: 64
Collections: AUgust 2020





	night shift

**Author's Note:**

> Written for AU-Gust Prompt #6: Hospital AU.

Steve's about ready to clock out of med when he hears the flurry of activity and voices that can only mean one of the mission teams just got back to the Tower. From what he can hear at the nurses' station, the damage sounds like a cluster of minor-to-medium injuries, maybe head trauma, a few broken bones, but it doesn't sound like anyone is bleeding out. Stark's already back, so that leaves either Cap or Romanov. 

Steve hesitates. He's been here all night, he hasn't had a dinner break, and he really, _really_ was hoping to get home before eight a.m. after a quick grocery and breakfast run. He has overnights all week and while it would be nice to spend some of his time not working or sleeping, well... 

"I can stay," Steve says, and drops his clipboard onto the desk at the station. "Shift change hasn't happened yet, I'm good." He scrubs both hands over his face, pushes his hair off his forehead, and snags his glasses from the pocket of his scrubs.

Another clipboard gets handed to Steve without any questions, they're that short staffed tonight, and the adrenaline rush Steve gets from the burst of excitement buzzes through him immediately. Flipping through the clipboard, he walks to the last examination room in med bay and thinks about the enormous coffee he's going to get himself on the way home. Truly enormous, so much caffeine, to go with all the hash browns he's going to eat. 

"Hey," Steve says, "I'll get you out of here as fast as possible. It looks like you--" he pauses, mid-hand sanitizing, and shakes his head. " _Again?_ Didn't I just see you last month?" 

Sitting on the examination table in tac pants and a compression undershirt, Captain America responds with a quick, one shoulder-shrug and then a little wince. 

"Yeah, well, part of the job." Sam winces against when Steve prods at his left shoulder and then pulls away a little. "How could you even tell?" 

"I'm really good at my job," Steve says. "And I'm pretty sure wrenching your shoulder isn't part of _yours_." 

Sam sighs when Steve rubs his shoulder more gently, then adds a few notes to his clipboard. Skimming the paperwork left Steve expecting one of Cap's team with minor bruising and dehydration, not Cap himself with the wrenched shoulder and what looks like a case of sleep deprivation in addition to the dehydration. 

Sometimes goes soft in Steve's chest when he glances at Sam and the way he's rubbing at his face, obviously run down and ready to get home, and he can't stop himself from touching Sam on his good shoulder. 

"I really will get you out of here as soon as I can. Let me check your vitals, get you hooked up to IV fluids, and take a look at that shoulder. You should probably--"

"--have somebody else look at it, yeah, I know." Sam nods in agreement, though that makes him wince a little, too. "Pretty sure it's only a sprain." 

"Mhmm... c'mon, vitals," Steve says. He wants to keep his hand on Sam's shoulder, though, and rub small circles there until some of the tension eases up in Sam's jaw. 

He wants-a lot of things he probably shouldn't want, Steve thinks, as he wraps the cuff around Sam's arm to check his blood pressure. He's talked to Sam a few times here in med, and maybe a couple other times as they passed each other in the Avengers Tower cafeteria. A memory of Sam's warm smile and the way he says Steve's name, a little low and like he's pleased to see him, too, makes Steve drift off for a moment. 

God. He needs sleep. Sleep and coffee and an actual boyfriend who won't care if he does stupid things like works overnights then drink twenty-four ounces of McDonald's coffee, or develop a crush on Captain America just because he says _Steve_ in his friendly voice.

__"Everything okay?" Sam asks._ _

__"What? Oh, yeah, Cap, you're good. You probably need about twelve hours of sleep and some mega painkillers, but... You're good," he repeats, and his traitorous voice goes all soft at the look in Sam's eyes. Before Sam can catch him, he glances aside and lets his glasses slip down his nose so he can duck behind them. "Let me see the shoulder, though. I just want to check up on it and make sure you're not feeling too bad."_ _

__"Then painkillers? Please just give me painkillers." Sam gives Steve another little smile, and it's really unfair how disarming he is._ _

__"Painkillers, fluids, orders to rest and ice the shoulder... That's a sprain," Steve murmurs as he tests Sam's range of motion and realizes it's not as bad as Steve had first thought. He's seen most of the STRIKE and missions team come home with any assortment of injuries and he's pretty good at telling what's bad and what's really bad. "Maybe have one of the PT's take a look at some point, though."_ _

__Sam groans and reaches over to rub his bad shoulder when Steve moves away, but he finally tips his head to the side with a nod of resignation. "Okay, eventually. I have what looks like endless debrief meetings for a few days. After that. Sleep and ice and meds first, though."_ _

__"Is that a promise?" Steve adds a few notes to the clipboard and when he looks up, there's a different kind of smile on Sam's face. "For all of that, though. I really do want you to ice that shoulder and take the painkillers."_ _

__"Maybe. If I make it a promise to you, then I have to keep it." Exhaustion is written all over Sam's face, seriously, his eyes look so tired, but they still have that same warmth to them that Steve's never been able to get out of his mind._ _

__"Okay, then promise. I'll check up on you." Steve feels his neck flush pink at the pleased look on Sam's face, which is also a traitorous move that his body makes. "Let me grab those painkillers and fluids for you," he adds, before the blush flushes up his face._ _

__Five minutes later, though, Steve's thinking good thoughts of hot coffee and Sam's smile and going to sleep in his pile of blankets and then Sam's smile again. For all that he's crashing from the adrenaline rush and ten hours at work, tired happiness bubbles up in Steve's chest as he walks back to the examination room._ _

__He returns with printouts and pills for Sam, and even gets him on IV fluids without any issues. After Sam reads through his med printout, he looks at the bottle of pills._ _

__"Make sure you eat when you take those painkillers. Real food, not just protein shakes," Steve says. He pauses when Sam gives him a closer look. "What?_ _

__"You like to fuss, don't you?" The question is not an accusation, not with how warmth and relief seem to thread through Sam's voice._ _

__"Sometimes, for the right people." And with that, Steve's too tired to care how easily he just added Sam to the list of _right people_ , which previously was limited to: his Mom, Bucky, Bucky's family, and the little outdoor cat he talks to whenever she stops by his Mom's place. "Look," Steve says, "if you feel like getting breakfast, and I promise I won't take you to McDonald's like I was planning--" _ _

__"--if you ask me out to breakfast, Steven Rogers, while I have an IV in my arm--" Sam laughs and rubs at his shoulder again. "I'm gonna say yes, by the way, I just had to get that in."_ _

__"Breakfast, then. It's a date, Sam," Steve says and finds he really, really likes the way his own voice goes warm and low when he says Sam's name._ _


End file.
